Facts

GAME DAY

What: No. 2 seed Spartanburg Methodist (33-0) vs. No. 7 seed East Georgia State (31-2) in NJCAA tournament quarterfinalsWhen: 7 p.m. (Eastern), ThursdayWhere: Hutchinson (Kan.) Sports ArenaWebcast: www.njcaabbtrny.orgWorth noting: East Georgia also played its initial game Wednesday and beat Coffeyville (Kan.), 79-47. Jordan Johnson scored 18 (four 3-pointers) and Tre’ Hagood had 17 points and six assists. Coffeyville shot only 27 percent. … Johnson (6-0 sophomore) averages 19.4 points per game. Hagood (6-2 sophomore) averages 13.8 points, 7.5 assists and 4.7 steals. … East Georgia State is in Swainsboro, Ga. …. The Bobcats have all Georgia players except one from Florida. … They have won 12 straight since only their second loss of the season, Feb. 2 against Chattahoochie Tech. East Georgia won the rematch in the tournament championship game. … The winner of this game plays in a 9 p.m. (EDT) semifinal. The title game is set for 8 p.m. Saturday.

But only one in this junior college national tournament can add “and we always win.”

Spartanburg Methodist came from behind in the final minutes Wednesday to win its opening game in the NJCAA tournament, 53-51, against Kilgore (Texas) College in the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

The Pioneers (33-0), ranked No. 1 in the country and seeded No. 2 in this single-elimination event, will play at 7 p.m. (EDT) Thursday against East Georgia State (31-2) in the quarterfinals.

“Normally after a big win, we celebrate,” SMC head coach Jeff Brookman said. “And while I want them to celebrate, I also want them to know that we’re not here just to win one game. We’ve got more to do. I think they’re focused. They’re really motivated and determined right now.”

There were 11 tie scores and 14 lead changes as these two teams went back and forth. Kilgore finally charged out in front with a 10-2 run, including two dunks, and led by four points with five minutes remaining. But SMC’s defense forced three straight turnovers to give the offense a chance.

Travis Black (Spartanburg Christian) made a 3-pointer to bring the Pioneers even, 49-all, with three minutes left. Ronell Crockett (T.L. Hanna) drove to the lane, drew a crowd, stopped and popped a jump shot that put SMC in front with 1:30 on the clock.

“Coach always tells us to get aggressive. That’s exactly what I tried to do,” said Crockett, who scored a game-high 18 points. “If they collapse, I can kick it out to somebody else. But at that moment, I just stepped up and hit a shot.”

“That bucket was terrific,” Brookman said. “Not only was it a tough shot, but it was over a 6-foot-9 shot-blocker. Ronell was going to do anything he had to do for us to win the game. That’s what it felt like.”

Kilgore tied it at the other end, but SMC got the winning basket on a Spartanburg County combination. Jalen Nesbitt (Chapman) from the top of the key zipped a pass to DaQuan Jeffries (Broome), who had slipped behind the defense for a layup with 28 seconds left.

“I heard (Kilgore players) yell, ‘Switch,’ so I rolled to the basket and Jalen found me,” Jeffries said. “I was wide-open.”

“He made exactly the play that we teach,” Brookman said. “Any time there is a switch (of assignments between defensive players), we want our guys to roll. He made the correct read and got to the basket.”

Kilgore called timeout with 7.5 seconds left to set up a play to tie or win, but the Rangers missed a long 3-point try at the buzzer.

“Of course, we’re disappointed that we didn’t make enough plays to win that basketball game,” Kilgore head coach Brian Hoberecht said. “To put it in a nutshell, they were better at who they are than we were at who we are. Some of that was them. You have to give them credit. And some of that was us.”

Crockett, in addition to his 8-for-14 shooting, had four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Jeffries finished with 11 points. Black scored eight to go with five rebounds and three assists. Nesbitt also had eight points and five rebounds despite playing only eight minutes in the first half because of foul trouble.

Playing the final 11:37 of the first half without Nesbitt, who leads the team in rebounding and is second to Crockett in scoring, SMC trailed only 23-19 at the break. The Pioneers had a three-point lead but didn’t score in the last four and a half minutes.

“I thought we had a good chance to get some separation there for a while,” Brookman said. “But they kept coming at us. Really, without Jalen, we just wanted to keep it close. We were in good shape.”

SMC is making its sixth appearance in the NJCAA tournament and second in a row after not getting here since 1999. The Pioneers are looking for their first championship and would be the seventh team in event history (since 1948) to do it with an undefeated season. No team from South Carolina -- or North Carolina or Georgia -- has ever won a junior college national title.

<p>HUTCHINSON, Kan. -- During timeouts in tight games, basketball coaches tend to use the same phrase: “We've been here before.”</p><p>But only one in this junior college national tournament can add “and we always win.”</p><p>Spartanburg Methodist came from behind in the final minutes Wednesday to win its opening game in the NJCAA tournament, 53-51, against Kilgore (Texas) College in the Hutchinson Sports Arena. </p><p>The Pioneers (33-0), ranked No. 1 in the country and seeded No. 2 in this single-elimination event, will play at 7 p.m. (EDT) Thursday against East Georgia State (31-2) in the quarterfinals. </p><p>“Normally after a big win, we celebrate,” SMC head coach Jeff Brookman said. “And while I want them to celebrate, I also want them to know that we're not here just to win one game. We've got more to do. I think they're focused. They're really motivated and determined right now.”</p><p>There were 11 tie scores and 14 lead changes as these two teams went back and forth. Kilgore finally charged out in front with a 10-2 run, including two dunks, and led by four points with five minutes remaining. But SMC's defense forced three straight turnovers to give the offense a chance.</p><p>Travis Black (Spartanburg Christian) made a 3-pointer to bring the Pioneers even, 49-all, with three minutes left. Ronell Crockett (T.L. Hanna) drove to the lane, drew a crowd, stopped and popped a jump shot that put SMC in front with 1:30 on the clock.</p><p>“Coach always tells us to get aggressive. That's exactly what I tried to do,” said Crockett, who scored a game-high 18 points. “If they collapse, I can kick it out to somebody else. But at that moment, I just stepped up and hit a shot.”</p><p>“That bucket was terrific,” Brookman said. “Not only was it a tough shot, but it was over a 6-foot-9 shot-blocker. Ronell was going to do anything he had to do for us to win the game. That's what it felt like.”</p><p>Kilgore tied it at the other end, but SMC got the winning basket on a Spartanburg County combination. Jalen Nesbitt (Chapman) from the top of the key zipped a pass to DaQuan Jeffries (Broome), who had slipped behind the defense for a layup with 28 seconds left.</p><p>“I heard (Kilgore players) yell, 'Switch,' so I rolled to the basket and Jalen found me,” Jeffries said. “I was wide-open.”</p><p>“He made exactly the play that we teach,” Brookman said. “Any time there is a switch (of assignments between defensive players), we want our guys to roll. He made the correct read and got to the basket.”</p><p>Kilgore called timeout with 7.5 seconds left to set up a play to tie or win, but the Rangers missed a long 3-point try at the buzzer.</p><p>“Of course, we're disappointed that we didn't make enough plays to win that basketball game,” Kilgore head coach Brian Hoberecht said. “To put it in a nutshell, they were better at who they are than we were at who we are. Some of that was them. You have to give them credit. And some of that was us.”</p><p>Crockett, in addition to his 8-for-14 shooting, had four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Jeffries finished with 11 points. Black scored eight to go with five rebounds and three assists. Nesbitt also had eight points and five rebounds despite playing only eight minutes in the first half because of foul trouble.</p><p>Playing the final 11:37 of the first half without Nesbitt, who leads the team in rebounding and is second to Crockett in scoring, SMC trailed only 23-19 at the break. The Pioneers had a three-point lead but didn't score in the last four and a half minutes.</p><p>“I thought we had a good chance to get some separation there for a while,” Brookman said. “But they kept coming at us. Really, without Jalen, we just wanted to keep it close. We were in good shape.”</p><p>SMC is making its sixth appearance in the NJCAA tournament and second in a row after not getting here since 1999. The Pioneers are looking for their first championship and would be the seventh team in event history (since 1948) to do it with an undefeated season. No team from South Carolina -- or North Carolina or Georgia -- has ever won a junior college national title.</p>